I hear footsteps approach, and then a lightning bolt of pain enters through the backs of my legs and travels through me. “Ahhh!” I scream, collapsing onto my knees in front of Adril. He gives the guard who just assaulted me a nod and shallow smile. The man retreats into the corner again.
Adril’s gaze falls on me as I struggle to get my legs to work again. It feels like I’ve been burned. The pain is relentless, and tears stream down my face as I hoist my bottom onto the small dais near Adril’s feet.
“I am not my daughter, vampire. I will not suffer your insolence. You will submit to me and do as I command, or you will be made to do it. Do you understand?”
When I don’t answer immediately, the guard approaches again. “I understand,” I say softly, quickly.
The guard stops and returns to his post. I stare out across the ballroom, watching the dark elves twirl across the dance floor in front of floor to ceiling windows that reveal the strange forest and moonless night beyond. I’m distracted from the otherwise surreal moment when something moves at the center of one of the tables. Inside a dome that matches the other bubbly décor is a small rabbit-like creature. It’s lying on its side, squirming as if it’s in pain.
“You display live animals on the tables?”
“Elves enjoy bringing nature indoors,” the king says in an indulgent tone, like I’m a child and he’s explaining why the sky is blue.
“Are the animals freed at the end of the night?”
“No. They exist for our entertainment. That is all.” He narrows his eyes on me. “You will learn in time, my pet, that elves are the superior species. We are the masters of this world. Anything else here, anyone else here, exists for our pleasure.”
Gross. It’s one thing to watch a community of starving shades eat every part of an animal that died quickly to feed them. Knowing that these creatures are dying simply for the elves’ entertainment absolutely sickens me, as does the overt superiority complex.
“Why am I here, Adril?”
“You will call me master. You have not earned the right to use my name.”
Jesus Christ, this guy… I desperately want to turn around, give him the finger, and tell him the only thing I will ever call him is bastard, but I use what little strength I have to quash those impulses. I need to know as much as I can about the terms of his agreement with Brahm so that when Damien rescues me, I can share everything.
“Why am I here, master?” I choke out.
Above me, he makes that wicked smile. It pleases him that I’ve obeyed. I swallow bile. “You and Damien refused to swear fealty to my daughter Nevina or pay her the tax you owe her, so the tax was taken from you. Brahm bartered you to me. He could have sent me anyone, you understand, but you, the only one of your kind, are a far more interesting treat. You are mine now.”
I am Damien’s, I remind myself silently, and I am my own.
“I sense your defiance,” he says. “You long to be with your mate.”
I say nothing.
“Truth be known, I wanted it this way,” he whispers. “Damien is a risk to me and a risk to my daughter. But shades like him have one fatal weakness. They will do anything for their mates. With you in my control, he will bend suitably to my will.”
I have to clench my teeth to stop myself from telling him where he can shove his will.
My head snaps back when he grabs my chain and yanks. A deep instinct for self-preservation has me baring my fangs and growling up into his cruel face. He grins that wicked grin that covers me in gooseflesh. Adril is truly the boogeyman, and I am at his mercy.
“There she is. There’s the fire I bartered so handsomely for.” He releases my chain and snaps his fingers. A servant, in a pink striped dress with wild hair that twists straight up, runs to his side and curtsies. “Bring a plate for my pet. She needs to keep up her strength.” He runs a hand over my head, trailing his multijointed fingers along the base of my neck.
I cringe at the feel of his hands on me. My muscles twitch with the urge to run. But I know better. Running could get me killed. I’m not strong enough to make it out of here alone. Damien will rescue me. I have to trust in that.
When the food is delivered along with a goblet of blood, I eat and drink, trusting it isn’t poisoned with sunlight. Adril knows I’m a vampire and clearly doesn’t want me dead. What he does want from me is something I’d rather not think about. I trust Damien is coming, but if he isn’t here soon and Adril tries to touch me again, I’ll kill him.
I will rip his elven heart straight out of his bony chest.
30
Dimhollow
DAMIEN
The nightmares are unceasing. Consumed by some kind of fever, I toss and turn, sweat soaking every part of me. But despite the blistering heat in my veins, I only feel cold. I shiver hard enough for my teeth to clack together. And still, I can’t fully drag myself from sleep.
A wet rag blots my forehead as I fight back a vision of Adril grabbing the back of Eloise’s neck. I have to get to her. I have to fight for her.
